Got courage? Willing to fight for what is right?
The kids in the Contract for the American Dream video aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe and to endure personal attacks by a major media network. Perhaps we could follow their courageous example rather than losing ourselves in meta wars here.
Last week I did a diary about FoxNews attacks on the children who appeared in a video supporting the Contract for the American Dream. Here's a link to the diary: Fox News calls children in MoveOn.org video "bastards" and "dorks"
The video featuring the children is part of an effort by MoveOn.org and Rebuild the Dream to put forth a progressive economic vision created by over 130,000 Americans online and in their communities. The parents and the children who participated in the video were asked to read through the Contract to ensure they were fully on board with the project and its goals.
Here's the original video:
FoxNews attacked the children, calling them dorks and bastards.
Here's a partial transcript:
KT McFARLAND (Fox News contributor): I think that just -- the more we see of this, the better. These kids are a bunch of dorks. I grew up -- I grew up in the era when the libs were supposed to be the cool guys. They were having, you know, the pool parties where everyone was getting thrown in. I was a Republican -- I was, like, you know, like, the little White House thing, and everybody [inaudible] had their Peter Pan collars. These guys are a bunch of dorks. I mean, that looks like it's something that the good old Republicans had put out for the state fair.
GUTFELD: That's an interesting point. So you're saying it's almost reversed it now, where the left has become the right in terms of earnestness and humorlessness, that now it is almost rebellious to be on the other side. I didn't think of it that way, KT, but that's why you are here. And Joe, that's why you're not here. What do you make of this, Joe? I saw you - I saw you tearing up. I thought you might have liked it.
JOE DeVITO (comedian): I did, because those little bastards are making me so angry that -- this video reminded me of -- the other night you were talking about the interview with Gwyneth Paltrow.
Full Transcript available here: Fox News calls children in MoveOn.org video "bastards" and "dorks"
MoveOn.org and Rebuild the Dream called on Fox to issue an apology to the children and their families, an apology that was not forthcoming:
"Fox News is hardly a beacon of responsible journalism. But even by their low standards, calling innocent children "dorks" and "bastards," as they did yesterday, is disgusting. With society focusing more and more on the terrible consequences of bullying, a gang of adults making derogatory comments about a bunch of kids and then laughing about it sends exactly the wrong message to our youth.
So now the kids are fighting back against the FoxNews bullies. One of the kids who was attacked by Fox News for appearing in the Contract for the American Dream video just put up a video response to Fox News.
Last week some people on FOX News attacked a video that I appeared in for MoveOn.org and Rebuild the Dream. They even called me and the other kids in the video names. Well, here's what I have to say.
Here's a transcript I did from the video:
Hello everyone. Recently I did a video for the Contract for the American Dream. Moveon.org and Rebuild the Dream brought together 130,000 Americans to create the Contract for the American Dream. The Contract offers real solutions to get our economy back on track.
I and eight other children that participated in the video were discussing those solutions which include a strong economy, good healthcare, and a fair living wage for all Americans. Millions of Moms and Dads out there can't find jobs. My future, my friends' futures, and your childrens' futures depend on a strong economy, good healthcare, and a good education.
Recently FoxNews attacked me and the eight other children in the video and even called us names. Basically they were saying we didn't have a right to speak out on issues that affect us now and issues that will affect our future. A recent guest even called us a curse word.
Bullying is a huge problem facing young people today. We don't need to turn on the TV and see guests on a major network bullying us.
That's what many Republicans are. Bullies.
She has the courage to stand up to bullies. Will you?
The Contract for the American Dream:
I. Invest in America's Infrastructure
Rebuild our crumbling bridges, dams, levees, ports, water and sewer lines, railways, roads, and public transit. We must invest in high-speed Internet and a modern, energy-saving electric grid. These investments will create good jobs and rebuild America. To help finance these projects, we need national and state infrastructure banks.
II. Create 21st Century Energy Jobs
We should invest in American businesses that can power our country with innovative technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal systems, hybrid and electric cars, and next-generation batteries. And we should put Americans to work making our homes and buildings energy efficient. We can create good, green jobs in America, address the climate crisis, and build the clean energy economy.
III. Invest in Public Education
We should provide universal access to early childhood education, make school funding equitable, invest in high-quality teachers, and build safe, well-equipped school buildings for our students. A high-quality education system, from universal preschool to vocational training and affordable higher education, is critical for our future and can create badly needed jobs now.
IV. Offer Medicare for All
We should expand Medicare so it's available to all Americans, and reform it to provide even more cost-effective, quality care. The Affordable Care Act is a good start and we must implement it -- but it's not enough. We can save trillions of dollars by joining every other industrialized country -- paying much less for health care while getting the same or better results.
V. Make Work Pay
Americans have a right to fair minimum and living wages, to organize and collectively bargain, to enjoy equal opportunity, and to earn equal pay for equal work. Corporate assaults on these rights bring down wages and benefits for all of us. They must be outlawed.
VI. Secure Social Security
Keep Social Security sound, and strengthen the retirement, disability, and survivors' protections Americans earn through their hard work. Pay for it by removing the cap on the Social Security tax, so that upper-income people pay into Social Security on all they make, just like the rest of us.
VII. Return to Fairer Tax Rates
End, once and for all, the Bush-era tax giveaways for the rich, which the rest of us -- or our kids -- must pay eventually. Also, we must outlaw corporate tax havens and tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. Lastly, with millionaires and billionaires taking a growing share of our country's wealth, we should add new tax brackets for those making more than $1 million each year.
VIII. End the Wars and Invest at Home
Our troops have done everything that's been asked of them, and it's time to bring them home to good jobs here. We're sending $3 billion each week overseas that we should be investing to rebuild America.
IX. Tax Wall Street Speculation
A tiny fee of a twentieth of 1% on each Wall Street trade could raise tens of billions of dollars annually with little impact on actual investment. This would reduce speculation, "flash trading," and outrageous bankers' bonuses -- and we'd have a lot more money to spend on Main Street job creation.
X. Strengthen Democracy
We need clean, fair elections -- where no one's right to vote can be taken away, and where money doesn't buy you your own member of Congress. We must ban anonymous political influence, slam shut the lobbyists' revolving door in D.C., and publicly finance elections. Immigrants who want to join in our democracy deserve a clear path to citizenship. We must stop giving corporations the rights of people when it comes to our elections. And we must ensure our judiciary's respect for the Constitution. Together, we will reclaim our democracy to get our country back on track.
Fact sheets for each point available here:
Contract for the American Dream
Go here to sign the Contract for the American Dream.
Update I: Kossak Aaron Krager has set up a petition demanding that FoxNews aplogize.
http://signon.org/...
“Last week Fox News criticized and called the children of the Rebuild the Dream video vicious names. We are asking for Fox News to issue an apology to each child and to have each panelist issue their own on air apology.
It is fine if Fox News wants to critique the message but it is not okay for it to attack the children in the video by calling them dorks and little bastards. Please issue an apology immediately.”